1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to the field of directory assistance and, in particular, to automatically redirecting a directory-assistance call between a free directory-assistance service and a chargeable directory-assistance service.
2. History of Related Art
Directory assistance has existed virtually since the onset of the public switched telephone system. As telephone networks grew in complexity, increased demand for directory-assistance followed and automation became necessary to control costs associated with providing listing information to callers. Many of these services are automated and implemented through automated prompting and speech recognition systems known in the art. Hardware and software are typically utilized to recognize names and numbers spoken by a requesting caller.
For example, in a typical free directory assistance call in the United States, a caller dials a specific phone number such as, for example, 1-800-CALLERS for a local exchange area and receives a pre-recorded prompt “Directory assistance: For what city please;” once the city is voiced, there is a prompt: “For what listing;” and in response to the prompt and depending on a response the caller gives, a desired telephone number is announced through a speech-synthesized announcement. However, if the desired telephone number is unlisted or if the caller's response is not recognized by the automated prompting and speech recognition system, the directory assistance system so informs the caller. The caller is required to hang up without being able to obtain the desired telephone number of the listing and must dial a separate number for directory assistance.
The caller is often forced to use other directory-assistance means such as, for example, a directory-assistance service that allows the caller to call a directory-assistance operator and request a telephone number of a listing. The directory-assistance operators manually find listings according to a caller's request. If the requested telephone number is listed, the directory-assistance operator communicates the telephone number of the listing to the caller. Most directory assistance services using a live directory-assistance operator currently charge for the lookup of names, addresses and telephone numbers. This can be costly and many customers find such directory-assistance charges to be excessive.